Five reasons why a second series of Fargo might not be such a good idea

Hands up everyone who wants a second series of Fargo? Er……(Picture: FX)

This article contains big, huge, massive spoilers for anyone who has not seen the last episode of Fargo. Proceed at your peril…

So Fargo has finally drawn to a conclusion – but not before turning us in to nervous wrecks with all the twists and turns – with an episode which saw the body count spiral one last time.

But as fans of the show are left frothing with excitement at the possibility of Gus and Molly returning for another round of smalltown shenanigans, series creator Noah Hawley isn’t quite so sure.

‘It says at the beginning of every episode “This is a true story”. And it just would not feel true to have: “Well that was a crazy case, but look what happened to her next,’ he said recently when quizzed about the idea of a second series.

And – much as we hate to agree with him, given just how brilliant the first series was – we can’t help thinking he may have a point. Largely because…

1 Almost everybody involved the first time around is dead

Billy Bob Thornton’s Lorne Malvo ended the series riddled with bullet holes, Martin Freeman’s Lester Nygaard came a cropper on some thin ice, and a whole host of other characters wound up in a bloody heap along the way. Not only does that severely reduce the number of people who could show up in a second series, but filling the gap left by Lester and Lorne – given just how a big a part of the series they both were – would be a tall order. Which brings us on to…

2 There’ll never be another Lorne Malvo

This man is irreplaceable. Seriously. (Picture: FX)

Thornton’s softly-spoken but calculatedly evil hitman is one of the most charismatic yet terrifying villains we’ve seen on the small screen in a long time. Which means that in the event of a second series producers would have their work cut out for them trying to come up with a bad guy even half as menacing. And judging how he was when we last saw him we don’t reckon Malvo himself will be in any fit state to come back (unless of course he’s not dead at all and got a lookalike to replace him in those final scenes. And honestly, we wouldn’t put it past him….)

3 We don’t want Gus and Molly getting in any more danger

If you’re anything like us you would have spent the last few episodes screaming ‘DON’T KILL MOLLY!!!!!’ at the screen with alarming regularity (which increased still further once she became pregnant). We’re not sure our nerves could take another series of such peril, particularly given her and Gus’s cosy domesticity. Maybe they could star in their own sitcom instead?

Molly Solverson ended the series in one piece. Let’s keep it that way shall we? (Picture: FX)

4 What are the odds of something like that happening twice?

Bearing in mind just how small the town of Bemidji actually was (not to mention all the similarly small surrounding towns), we’d think the chances of something that huge happening again, particularly in such a short space of time, would be pretty remote. Granted, this doesn’t seem to have been a problem for the makers of Broadchurch, but as with that show it would have to be something radically different for it to work.

5 It wouldn’t be Fargo if it wasn’t in Fargo

The show’s quirkiness is the reason we loved it so much (Picture: Channel 4)

So there has been talk of a second series that features completely different characters – which by our reckoning would also mean a different setting. But that wouldn’t be Fargo, would it? Besides, let’s not forget there is more to Fargo than simply a crime spiralling out of control – the smalltown characters and their quirks, their odd accents and way of speaking, not to mention all that snow, made the show what it was. If they made a second series and set it somewhere else, you’d automatically lose all that, and we’re not sure it would be for the better.

All of which suggests that perhaps Noah Hawley should tread very carefully if he does decide to make a second series – unless of course he fancies turning his attentions to a different Coen Brothers movie instead. The Big Lebowski perhaps….?